Vladimir_M comments on Memetic Hazards in Videogames - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (158)
I'd say the worst habit of thought promoted by computer games is that if you do something disastrously foolish or clumsy, you can conveniently restart from a recently saved position. Clearly, that doesn't help one develop a good attitude towards the possibility of blunders in real life. (Though I should add that I haven't played any computer games in almost a decade, and I don't know if the basic concepts have changed since then.)
I don't find that's so for myself. War games give me a sense of my own mortality and ease of finding death no matter how many health packs and energy shields are provided. I wonder whether others experience the same?
I find it makes me long for this ability rather than fool me into thinking I have it. In fact, reminding me that I could die or make the game unwinnable at any moment tends to have the opposite effect of making me more risk averse than I should be.